Sheet-applying apparatus for printing presses



March 31, 1931. N. WELTER 1,793,240

SHEET APPLYING APPARATUS FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed Feb. 7. 1928 2 sheets sheet l March 31, 1931. N. WELTER 1,798,240

SHEET APPLYING APPARATUS FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed Feb. 17, 1928 2 Shoots-Sheet 2 I I z 0 6 V V A mm- 0'0 7.; 5:9 f m E1 'V A f lnVerytor:

Patented Mar. 31, 1931 I OFFICE NIGOLA'UQ WELTEB, F 00I|GNE-LINIDENTH4L, GERMANY SHEET-APPLYING AEPARATUS h gh, PRINT-"ENG: IERESSiEEi application filed February 1?, 19223, ficrial li'ohgtltmt, and in Germany February 19, 1927.

The invention relates to an apparatus for applying paper sheets from a pile to the printing or impression cylinder of printing presses, and especially to that type, in which a the top sheet is lifted from the pile by a suclrer. The invention has the purpose of attaining more sure function and with simpler means than in existing devices of like character. to This is achieved by a sucker, which after being placed onto the top sheet receives a tilting movement for raising the sheet edge, and a blower blows an air current against said edge for separating the top sheet from the follt lowing sheets. The sucking and blowing nozzles are connected to two separate fans, each of which is driven by an electromotor, so that they act surely and regulable independently from the rotation of the press, and 2% no connecting gear between the fans and the press is necessary.

Further essential features of the invention.

reside in a belt taking up the sheet from the sucker and transporting it to the printing 25 cylinder with a great velocity, but delivering it with a reduced velocity to the end abutments, so that soft application to said abutments is reached. In these abutments further important details are embodied for caus- W ing them to precisely adjust the sheet also in the cross direction, parallel to the printing cylinder axis.

Finally the invention concerns a chain device, the drive of which is controlled by a finger resting on the top sheet of the pile, for automatically raising the pile in a measure corresponding to the taking away of sheets and always ofiering the top sheet on a precise level to the sucker.

lln the drawing the invention is illustrated on an embodiment.

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the whole apparatus, unnecessary parts being omitted,

Fig. 2 is a lateral View of the main part without its lateral frame,

Fig. 3 is a separate view of the belt drive, seen in longitudinal direction of the press,

Figs. 4 and 5 are separate views, partly in section, of the abutment device, seen in longi- 50 tudinal direction of the press.

The frame of the apparatus consists of two lateral frames 1, adapted to be positioned on the pile desk of a common press, and of a transport plate 2 extending from said lateral frames to the printing device 3 of the press.

Between said lateral frames 1 a pile table 4 is supported on each side by a chain 5 running crosswise, as shown in Fig. 2, over four sprocket wheels 6 rotatably supported on each of said lateral frames 1. For driving these chains 5 one pair of said sprocket wheels '8 is fastened to a common shaft 7 provided with a ratchet wheel 8, and herein a pawl 9 engages, which is guided by a lever 10 and oscillated by an eccentric drive 11 from a shaft 12, driven by the press. lhe pawl 9 is thrown out of engagement on the ratchet wheel 8 by a weight 13 and provided with a counter arm 14 for being thrown into engagement. On said counter arm 14 a weight lever 15 rests, which freely swings about a shaft 16 supported in said lateral frames 1. This shaft 16 in its middle part is provided with a clamp 17 for holding with adjustable length a finger lever 18 resting on the pile. On its one end the said shaft 16 has a support 19 with a regulating screw 20 supporting the said weight lever 15, so that this latter is lifted and the ratchet device 8 to 14 is out of operation, as long as the pile is sufficiently high, whereas a too deep level of the pile top causes the weight lever 15 to lower and press onto the counter arm 14, so that the ratchet device comes into operation and causes the pile table 4 to raise the pile top up to its precise desired height. A hook 21 extends from said weight lever 15 above the pile table 4 and serves for at every event setting the ratchet device out of action, as soon as the pile table 4 reaches the highest allowed level.

For lifting the uppermost sheet from the pile a sucker 22 with a series of sucking nozzles 23 is supported by its both ends on two tilting levers 24, each of which is pivoted to a slide 25, on which it is swingable in the direction of the arrow 26 against the pull of a (not shown) spring. The said slides are guided in angular slots 27 of the lateral frames 1, so as to be movable from the shown take ofi position to a throw away position above a belt roller 28 connected by several belts 29 to a second belt roller 30 supported in the above mentioned transport plate 2, which device serves for delivering the sheet to the press.

For driving said slides 25, from a shaft 31, driven by the press, by means of an eccentric 32 and a rod 33 a swinging lever 34 supported on the lateral frame 1 is oscillated, in a slot of which said rod 33 engages by a pin 35. A rod 36 connects said swinging lever 34 to the slide 25, so as to move it to and fro in the slot 27. The pin and slot connection enables the slide and sucker to remain at rest for a short moment in its end positions for surely taking oil and throwing away the sheet.

For imparting to the sucker 22 the above said tilting movement according to the arrow 26, on the said eccentric 32 a sideward projecting pin 37 is provided, and a double armed lever 38, supported on the lateral frame 1, is opposed with its one end to said pm 37, whereas its other end contains a regulating screw 39 opposed to the above said tilting lever 24 of the sucker 22, so as to effect the tilting according to the arrow 26 as soon as the position shown in Fig. 2 is reached. Thereby the front edge of the top sheet is raised immediately after the sucker has gripped the sheet by its sucking action. The said tilting movement is finished and the vertical position of the sucker restored, after the pin 37 has passed the lever 38, and the sucker is moved up to the belt roller 28, where it delivers the sheet by means of an interruption of its sucking action. A pressing roller 40 is positioned above said belt roller 28 on an angular lever 41, held on the transport plate 2, so as to catch the delivered sheet and press it against said belt roller 28. For

lifting said pressing roller 40 during the de- Y livery of the sheet, on the said driving shaft 31 a cam 4-2 is provided, and a push rod 43 opposed to said angular lever 41 is fitted with a roller 44 in the path of movement of said cam 42, so as to be caught by the latter and lift said angular lever 41 and pressing roller 40 during the delivery from the sucker 22.

For assisting in loosening the uppermost sheet from the following sheets a blower 4:5 is opposed to the front edge of the uppermost sheets so as to direct a current of air against these during the taking off and tilting operation of the sucker 22.

F or producing the-sucking action in the sucker 22, 23, an electrically driven sucking fan 46 of the rotary type is connected by a flexible tube 47 to the sucker tube 22. A similar blowing fan48 is connected by a flexible tube 49 to the blower 4:5. Both fans are supported on the lateral frames 1 so as to lie above the latter and on both sides of the apparatus. For governing the sucking and blowing actions valves are influenced by any moving parts of the apparatus e. by the slide 25, so as to open bypasses for t e sucked and blown air, as long as the respective actions shall be interrupted. 1

The roller and belt arrangement 28, 29, 30 is driven from the above said driving shaft 31 in the following manner: Parallel to said shaft 31 a second shaft 50, is supported in the lateral frames 1, and both shafts are connected to each other by toothed wheels 51'and52. On said second shaft a 'swingable casing 53 is loosely supported, in which a pinion 54 is in engagement with the said toothed wheel 52. A connecting rod 55 connects said casing 53 to an eccentric fastened to said first toothed wheel 51 or to its shaft 31, so that during rotation of said shafts the casing 53 is oscillated, and the pinion 5 1 performs a rotation of varying velocity, according to the respective addiit tion and subtraction of movement by its to and fro oscillation entire with the casing 53. A shaft 56 fastened in said pinion 54 is connected by a universal joint 57 to a hollow shaft 58, a second shaft 59 is longitudinally slidable in said hollow shaft 58, and this second shaft 59 is connected by a second universal joint 60 to a short shaft 61, so that the yielding shaft 57-60 drives the latter shaft 61 with the different velocities independently from the oscillation of the latter round the driving shaft 50. The short shaft 61 is provided with a sprocket wheel 62, and this is connected by a chain 63 to a further sprocket wheel 64 united to the belt roller 28, so that the latter and the belts 29 are driven with great velocity during the transport of the sheet along the transport plate 2, but with a reduced velocity at the end of such produced in the pinion 54-,

transporting operation, when the sheet is i caught by abutments 65, mounted on the transport plate 2. A

For ensuring a precise lateral adjustment of the sheet with respect to the printing mechanism, the said abutments 65 are laterally movable in a transverse slot 66 near the lower end of said transport plate 2 and arranged as more clearly shown in Figs. and 5. For this purpose each abutment 65 is mounted on a sledge 67 slidable in said slot 66 between two adjustable stops 68 and 69. One of the said sledges may remain at rest, whereas the other is driven to and fro by a shifting rod 70 from the driving shaft 50 or from any other adapted moving part by a cam and push rod and an angular lever, which parts are not shown as they are of no essence for the invention. The said shifting rod 70'is not immediately connected to said sledge 67 but to a block 71 which is clamped on the rod 7 0 at any desired point corresponding to the breadth of the sheet to be gripped. On the sledge 67 a double armed gripping lever 72, 73 is supported with a slot 74 on a pivot 75, and drawn by a spring 76 into the position shown in Fig. 4, in which it tends to catch the block 71. Beneath one arm 73 of said lever a lateral abutment 77 for the sheet is fastened to said sledge 67, and besides said lateral abutment the lever arm 73 is opposed to the sledge 67, so as to be able to hold the sheet, after the latter has reached that point. The other lever arm 72 has an oblique surface and nose 78 opposed to said block 71, which in its turn lzias a recess 7 9 for being caught by said nose This device acts as follows: When the sheet arrives near the printing mechanism, all parts have the position shown in Fig. 4. The shifting rod 70 then draws the block 71 and by the lever 72, 73, remaining in its position, also the sledge 67 to the right side according to the arrow, so that the abutment 77 runs against the sheet and takes thelatter with itself. As soon as the sledge 67 runs against the abutment 69, the block 71 presses the lever arm 72 upward, so that the other arm 73 by the spring 76 is pressed onto .the sheet, and the nose 78 engages the recess 79, which position is shown in Fig. 5. Thereafter the block 71 efiects its return stroke,

according to the arrow in Fig. 5, and takeswith it the sledge and the sheet, until the sledge 67 J runs against 'the abutment 68, whereupon the block 71 runs somewhat farther and disengages from the lever nose 78,

thus allowing the lever arm 73 to free the sheet lying precisely on the abutment 77. This mode of lateral adjustment of the sheet is so precise, that it suffices for precise covering of multiple coloured prints.

The apparatus is provided with usual electrical contact devices on the transport plate 2 for controlling the due movements of the sheet to be applied and for stopping the press in case of irregularities. The electrical switches and current controls for all such instruments are enclosed in a casing 83 (Fig. 1) fastened to one of the lateral frames 1. A resistance casing 84 is arranged on the same lateral frame and provided with resistance switches 82 and 81 for adapting the driving forces and air pressures of the blowing fan 48 and the sucking fan 46 respectively to the requirements of the thinner or thicker sheets to be handled.

I claim: 1. A sheet applying apparatus for printing presses, comprising in combination an airsucking device, a sucker connected to said device, a first paper feed roller, a. second roller near the printing press, a belt running about said rollers, means for approaching said sucker to the top of a paper pile and for thereafter approaching it to said first roller, 9. toothed wheel driven by a shaft of the press, a pinion in engagement on said toothed wheel, a casing supporting said pinion and rotatable about the axis of said toothed wheel, means for swinging said casing in dependency upon the rotation of said press shaft,

and a yielding shaft connecting the said pinments on said guiding part for confining the I movement of said sledge, and interen aging means on said block and said lever, a apte to press said lever onto the paper sheet on the arrival on the one abutment and to let it return on the arrival on the other abutment.

3. A sheet applying apparatus for printing presses, comprising the part enumerated in claim 2, the gripping lever being held on the sledge by a slot, so as to be movable in vertical direction and adapted to surely hold the paper sheet.

' 4. A-sheet applying apparatus for printing presses, comprising in combination a sucker, means for approaching said sucker t0 the top of a paper pile, means for tilting said sucker so as to raise the edge part of the uppermost shet of said pile 1nto an oblique position, a blower directed against said edge part, and means adapted to regulate the air streams of the sucker and the blower independently of each other.

In witness whereof I afix my signature. NICOLAUS WELTER. 

